The head of the world's largest energy company urged the world today, Monday, to accept the "hard facts" that oil and natural gas will remain present for a long time to come and that the consumption of both energy sources is likely to grow at least in the coming year, decade, or two.

In a speech delivered at an energy conference in Houston, the CEO of Saudi Aramco, Amin Nasser, described the ambitious timelines of environmental groups as a failure because the world continues to consume record amounts of fossil fuels every year.

He said, "We have to abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas and invest in them appropriately in a way that reflects realistic demand assumptions."

Nasser said oil consumption will reach a new record level of 104 million barrels per day this year and may continue to grow until 2045.

He added, "All of this reinforces the view that the peak of oil and gas is unlikely to last for some time, let alone by 2030." "No one is betting on that."

Nasser's comments come just a few months after countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, reached a new climate agreement that specifically calls for "the transition from fossil fuels in energy systems" to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

After the agreement was approved in December during the United Nations Climate Conference, the head of the two-week summit in Dubai, Sultan Al Jaber, said the new agreement "will put the world on the right track."

The agreement was considered pioneering because it was the first time countries explicitly agreed to address fossil fuels and the need to move away from oil, natural gas, and coal in order to curb global warming.

The latest World Energy Outlook report by the International Energy Agency expects the way the world is supplied with energy to change significantly by the end of the decade, thanks to increased demand for electric cars and clean energy technologies.

The report also included a stark warning: much stronger policies are needed to reduce fossil fuel emissions to keep temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

Some other oil CEOs also warned during the CERAWeek conference organized by S&P Global Energy that it will take time for the world to transition to low-carbon energy sources, such as hydrogen.

Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, said: "We are not currently on track to achieve net zero by 2050, and one of the challenges here is that while society wants to see emissions go down, no one wants to pay for it."

The International Energy Agency continues to expect global oil demand growth this year, despite updating its forecasts last week to expect a slight supply deficit. The report raised oil prices above $80 per barrel.

Keith Stewart, chief energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada, said in an email: "The exciting truth is that we already have cheaper alternatives to oil and gas in transportation, home heating and cooling, and electricity generation, and we are innovating new ways to replace them for other uses."

"The only question is whether we will make the transition from fossil fuels quickly enough to avoid the worst effects of climate change and how we can support workers and communities in oil-producing areas during the transition period."